A shrewd "head counter" within the Senate Republican leadership, Bill Hildenbrand first came to Capitol Hill in 1957 on the staff of a Delaware Representative. In 1961, he joined the staff of Delaware Senator
J. Caleb Boggs
. When Senator
Hugh Scott
became Republican whip in 1969, he made Hildenbrand his administrative assistant. When Scott was elected Republican leader, he continued as his right-hand man. Hildenbrand recounts the difficulties Senate Republicans had in working with the
Nixon
White House. Elected secretary of the minority, Hildenbrand became a familiar figure on the Senate floor. After the Republicans won the majority in 1980, he was elected Secretary of the Senate, where his duties became more administrative than political, but he continued to assist his party's leadership in the majority after so many years in the minority.